Transformation
by Dreamin'OfABlondeFang
Summary: Porcelain, that was what she looked like she was made of. Not like the old Max, the strong leader, but a fragile glass doll. Deep in her soul, though, was a spark. A spark that would lead to a fire. And that fire could rebuild, or destroy, all of us. Fax.
1. Chapter one: Bent and Broken

Chapter One: Bent and Broken

"Hey, Mum, we're out of-" I froze. In the doorway was my mother, Valencia Martinez, with her shirt lifted a quarter way up her stomach. Her protruding stomach. A massive grin engulfed her tanned face and she exclaimed, "Max, you have a baby sister!" I could tell my eyes were comparably golf ball sized and my mouth was gaping open judging by the breeze cooling the spit in my mouth. I plastered a fake cheesy grin to my face and nodded frantically as I walked out into the hallway and then in the general direction of my bedroom. Entering the creme, dark brown, and black walled room I slid down the plaster and grasped the strands of golden blonde hair in my fingers (which I really should wash...) And gulped in a massive breath of air, then promptly letting it go. How did I miss that? Her stomach looked as big as a basketball!

...::::::...

I must've sat there for two hours. The sky stained an inky black-blue colour which reminded me that I needed to stretch out the wings and go for a fly later today. I finally stood up and straightened out, walking back out to tell my mum goodnight. Light murmuring trickled into the hallway, and into my genetically enhanced ears.

"Shh, baby don't worry. Soon you'll have a gorgeous set of wings; just like your sister." My eyes re-grew to golf ball size and I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from shrieking as I flattened myself against the wall. As I swallowed, an iron ball settled in my stomach and I felt the same way I did about Angel the first time I saw her at the small age of two months. A motherly sense of protectiveness. _They would_ not_ touch my baby,_ I thought. Untangling a plan to escape with the child on the way back to my room. No one would touch my Veil. No harm would come to that child.

AN:

Hey guys! I'm sure you're a bit confused at this right now, so I'll explain a bit.

First if all, I do realize that it's moving a bit fast, the story. And yes, that is what I intended to do.

Secondly, Veil is the name Max chose for the child. Almost like Val, but darker-ish, you know?

And the flock is there, I just don't really mention them. So, we good? Now here's a bit more.

Two weeks later:

I clenched my fists, listening to the sound if my knuckles cracking and the baby wailing from the other side of the white hospital door. I swear, I'd barely breathed in a molecule of air since I've ran in here, out of fear. The chemical smell would twist and spiral it's way down my throat, burning as it went, and in my mind the walls would begin to shift inward, giving a cue to claustrophobia to set in. A smiling nurse poked her head out if the door and motioned for me to file in.

I nearly went into cardiac arrest.

The child obviously wasn't the product of Jeb and her, from the sight of the beautiful baby girl. Deep amber eyes glinted adoringly at me and the beginnings of glinting bronze-gold mixed hair stuck out in tufts. She was already gorgeous. Not to mention, as good as mine. Sorry mum, but I can't let her go through the misery I did. Never; I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Running was the best option out these, and it was the one I was going with.

Five days later:

The sky was pitch black, midnight black, Fang black.

I shook my head at the thought- he didn't and wouldn't care if I ran away. He'd look after the Flock, because it was only me he wanted away from. He still loved all them, just not me. Wait- I thought I'd stopped talking about him? Okay, Max, focus.

The army drab bag on my back seemed to weigh tons and I almost turned back and went to sleep.

Veil whimpered in her slumber, dreaming of something. Valencia chose to name her Maria in place of her grandmother, but I refused to call her anything but Veil. She seemed to like that one better on my opinion, smiling a bit and trying to lift her hands above her head. She was deathly pale, and from what I had gathered, her father was part albino: which explained it.

I shifted the bag in my back into a somewhat more comfortable position and stooped down to bring Veil to my chest. She was wrapped thickly in soft and comforting blankets, ensuring her warmth against the rainy weather where we were headed. In one night, I wouldn't be able to do it. But now, not running for my life and hers, we had much time to cross from Mesa to rainy Quillayute, Washington.

...:::...

Three years later:

My breathing stopped, as he flipped his black skater hair back and grinned at the clerk. He hadn't seen me yet, but he would if I didn't get out soon. He still looked exactly as I had imagined him at seventeen, when I had also stopped aging.

I gulped, running my hand through my own hair, now died a dark brown-almost black colour. He must've turned around during my reverie, because he was staring straight at me now: mouth agape and eyes wide. He could still recognize me, probably because I had been stupid and refused contacts because they interfered with my vision. I full out ran back to the front if the store where Veil was being watched in the stores day-care. I hadn't gathered anything from my list yet, so I suppose that's a bonus, not having to drop random items into the aisle. I rounded the corner and nearly slammed into the front wooden panel of the nursery. I gulped in a few breathes, then held out my arms for my baby girl. Some workers here knew me by name because this is where I usually went for groceries. This was the third time we'd moved so far, still keeping in the Washington-Oregon area, because of one tiny thing. Apparently they'd already managed to slip a drug into Valencia and therefor into Veil. Whereas nowadays I look about nineteen or twenty, with makeup, she still looks a week or two old. She was also born prematurely, so she was very tiny and people sometimes gave me dirty looks or scolded me on taking her outside. But she had an amazing immune system for her age. In some ways, better than my own; seeing as I've actually gotten sick for the first time in my life after coming here. Chicken pox. Ironic, right? And Veil had been perfectly fine. She had barely left my arms since we left. Not a sore, or even a scratch, nothing. It was like she was suspended in time, her hair hadn't even grown over a centimeter. But she sure knew how to get her point across to you. Because even though I'd thought that I'd gotten to her too fast for any hypodermic needles to come flying at her, apparently it wasn't all that fast, Veil can teleport her own thoughts to others. Which can be helpful, in some situations. Not so helpful in others. But that's a story for later, right now, Fang was flying (Not literally.) Towards me. A big smile on her face, an elderly looking Latino women leaned over the counter and placed Veil into my arms; I was practically a walking panic attack. He was- a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back over to a wall by a Redbox kiosk and the men's restroom.

"Max?" he hissed, and I flinched like he'd sprayed venom in my face. (Yes, I have toned down my hostility level just a bit. No need to be a bad influence on the kid, right?)

"What the heck? You've been _here_ for the last three years? Why did you abandon the Flock?" He demanded, shaking me slightly by my shoulders. His head was bent down level to mine and glared deep into my same brown eyes, jaw clenched, he seemed to be fighting the urge to hurt me. And that fact scared me, when the heck did he change this much? I gulped hard and opened my mouth to reply when Veil let out a little heart-wrenching squeal of discomfort. Fang's face blanched as he looked down and saw her. "Max-"

I cut him off by running in the opposite direction, towards the doors and out into the parking lot; my arms wrapped tightly around my baby girl. My feet pounded the sidewalk as I ran towards the parking garage opposite the store. (The parking lot was full when I got there so I sufficed with this.) And reached the cool outer wall of the massive building and started to slide down when I heard a fast paced beat from around the sharp corner of the building. Straining my leg muscles, I got up and sprinted the rest of the way to my car.

I jumped into my car, an olderish Camaro type thing, painted a champagne colour. Jamming the key into its proper spot, I twisted it. The engine sputtered. My eyes widened and what I can only describe as horror gripped my mind. A knock on the side of my window resounded in the car and I found myself clenching my jaw and tightly squeezing my eyelids together to refrain from shrieking and sobbing. I drew my knees up onto the seat and close to my chest, sitting Veil in between them and resting my chin softly on her head. The door opened and a frigid breeze entered my car, making me shudder as I was dressed in a thin oversized hoodie. Arms slipped under my knees and around my back, I cringed involuntarily into Fang and then realized my action, so I leaned as far away from him as possible with out falling and injuring myself and Veil. He sighed, and his warm breath trailed down my neck, somehow breaking the barrier between my protective wall of hair and himself. I curled closer into myself and sort of snuggled into Veil and her warmth. "Max, come on. We need to talk," his words spilling a flood of warmth down my neck. I whimpered lowly and then groaned a bit louder to cover it up. Being in this suspended fetal position wasn't helping my aching and hollow stomach or the fresh scabs on my back from my most recent incident. I could practically _feel_ them re-opening and trickling trails of crimson liquid down my now pale and skinny back. I chomped down on my bottom lip until I felt the tangy metallic-ness of, you guessed it, blood. I lifted my head up and released my bottom lip, we were in a deserted and grimy corner of the parking garage. Fang set me down on the concrete ground and kneeled in front of me, and since I was in a corner, I couldn't run away. I couldn't do anything but sit there, cradling Veil until the only whimpering was probably my own. Fang grabbed my chin and forced me to look into his eyes until I averted my gaze, instead focusing in on some graffiti on the walls. I felt a warm something slip down from my lip and realized I was bleeding at the same time Fang did. He reached up a finger to wipe it away but I darted out my tongue and lapped it up before he could, then I tilted my head back so he wasn't holding my chin anymore. Then hung it downward so that my hair covered my face. I could hear Fang growl slightly and I knew he was still mad at me, did he want to hurt me because I ran away? He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pinned my head back against the wall.

Stupid question.

"Max, look at me! Why did you run away?" He said in a deadly voice, like he'd yank the fistful of my hair he was holding right out. Veil whimpered again and he directed his fatal glare at her, but his eyes softened. When he looked up at me, though, they were black steel again. He opened his mouth to say something to me, but I spoke up first.

"Fang," my voice cracked and I would've flinched if he hadn't have had my hair in a death grip.

"You're- you're hurting me," I said it do quietly even I wasn't sure I'd actually said it.

"You _deserve_ it. Do you know how torn up the Flock is without you?" Everyone except Angel, I said in my mind.

"They were going to kick me out anyways, I wasn't really leader anymore. I never talked or ate or _anything_," I groaned out as my hair was yanked back, my spine arching.

"Why would you do something so stupid?" He growled in my face.

"The one person I trusted left. And why are you using past tense? I _still_ don't eat, am I good enough to deserve you now?" I sort of hissed while shifting Veil over I yanked up my hoodie and loose long sleeve under it, to reveal my bare stomach and extremely protruding ribs. It wasn't a pretty sight. You could probably fit a toddlers belt around it and room to spare. (Come to think of it, I probably weigh as much as said toddler, around 30, 40 pounds.) My ribs looked almost ready to jump off me and run away, covered with pale near-white skin from very little light exposure and a few freckles. It was also mottled with bruises from my most recent incident, like my back. Fang's face went white and he traced my ribs in wide-eyed horror. "Max-" he choked out. "Why did you do this?" I tugged back down my two layers and gulped down saliva, still getting over the tingling sensation Fang left on my bare stomach.

"I used to do it because I thought you left because I was ugly. Now I know it was because you hate me, so I give all the food I get to charity and such, there's a lot more people who need it more than I do. Besides, I don't think I'd be able to stand the taste and smell of food anymore. It'd make me sick," and I was telling the truth. Yesterday I walked into Subway yesterday to use the bathroom and the smell of bread and food in general sent me rushing to a stall to retch. Fang looked pale and sick at the sight of me. Veil reached up a hand and touched my forehead, words and images flashed behind my eyelids, Veil was scared, of what? I wasn't sure, until an image of Fang's face, dark and snarling, flashed to centre. My eyes flew open and I shoved Fang backward and made a flying leap over him.

My feet pounded the sidewalk and I ran into the nearest store, Target. My slick soles slid over the hard tile as I rounded a sharp corner, diving into the woman's bathroom and locking myself and Veil into the small stall in the very back. Her bottom lip was trembling when I looked down to her. Big, wide, and deep brown eyes were rimmed with tears. I slid down the wall and started crying silent tears with her, mumbling apologies to her. I was breaking again, and I still couldn't stop shattering into glittering shards of glass.

Fang POV:

I scanned the aisles, scouting out the next item on Iggy's pre-written list. 'Worcestershire sauce,' what the hell is that? I looked up, and found an employee. I wove my way through the sea of carts, ocassionaly mumbling an 'Excuse me,' or a 'Move it, shorty.'

Then, finally free of the mob, I tapped the brunette on the shoulder and cleared my throat to obtain her attention. She spun around and smiled brightly. "How may I help you today, sir?" She asked, eyes gliding over me. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on it. I handed her the list from my pocket and her smile faltered a bit, seeing as it was just words and not numbers. She turned around and looked up to read the signs organizing the aisles, _'She must be new.'_ And said, "Aisle three, near the front." I grinned crookedly at her and turned in that direction. Time froze as a pair of shockingly deep brown eyes met mine, and only one thought dominated my mind; _Max_.

The brown eyes widened and she took off toward the daycare station, why would she be going there? My brain restarted and my legs flew toward where she was going. I started thinking, about how she'd just dropped everything and left, leaving the Flock behind and leaving _me_ and _my_ 'Flock' to pick up the pieces. Anger started to fuel me now, instead of longing to be near her. It raced through my veins, adrenaline tagging along. I was _mad_, no, I was _furious_. How could she be so goddamn _stupid_?

She was at the counter now- she couldn't have a kid, could she? That thought went to the back of my mind as she turned around, arms crossed tightly around her stomach. She spotted me again and raced for the exit, but I was to close to her. My hand clamped down on her shoulder and I almost removed it, there was something hard and kind of pointy on her shoulder. I passed it off as shoplifting and continued to drag her over to a vacant corner.

She looked different, cheekbones a little more visible. Eyes vacant and scared, and skin almost unnaturaly pale. My eyes tightened into a glare and I backed her into a wall.

I don't remember what I said after that, just that I was madder than I ever was before.

...::::::...

A/N: OOkay! So there you have it :) This story, Deadly Uppercuts and Lethal Jabs, and Best Friends Brother are THE ONLY ONES I will be working on for a while :) Sorry for any inconveninces!

And please give a few minutes of your time to go say hi to my FAVOURITE BETA! GoodGirlGoneFANG! Wuvz you buddy xD


	2. Chapter two: Falling To Pieces

Chapter two: Falling To Pieces

Max's POV

My eyes felt glued together when I tried to open them. A tiny, warm hand brushed my cheek and I smiled a little; reaching up to rub the dried tears from my eyes.

I stretched my arms up, and then dropped them just as fast when a ripping wave of agony tore through my abdomen. With one arm holding Veil, I did the best I could to clutch at my stomach. I've had hunger pains before, but not like this.

I leaned over the outer rim of the toilet and retched, but this time, something came up. I'd squeezed my eyes shut earlier, and I kept them shut as a liquid like substance spilled from my throat. The flow subsided and I coughed to free anymore from my throat, then wiped my lips on my hand. The pain in my stomach hadn't lessened, it'd doubled. Tripled maybe, and then I opened my eyes to find the lever to flush. Red filled my vision and my eyes widened. Streaming red ribbons raced down the side of the white porcelain; crimson dots splattered the walls; and more red filled the bowl. I looked down at my hands, the pain in my stomach momentarily forgotten. They were dripping in blood as well.

Veil squealed in discomfort as I clutched my stomach again. It felt as if I was being ripped open as the fiery bolts of pain tore through me. I couldn't help it, a haunting and terrible banshee like scream ripped from my body as I doubled over. One option came into my near incoherent mind. My now frail fingers crept to my loose fitting pajama pants, towards the pocket. I pulled out a dully shined phone, and almost dropped it as another shockwave of pain crackled, me screaming again. Hurrying this time, I rapidly pressed buttons and got to my contact list, pulling up the number belonging to my first love, the boy who'd left me all those years back and clicked the green 'call' button. I hoped he still used this number from when we were fifteen.

"Hello?" A flash of relief went through me.

"Fang," I whimpered his name breathily.

"Max-?" I cut him off, getting to the subject.

"Fang help m- AAAAIHHH!" I screamed tormentedly and in pure agony as the largest shockwave of pain rocked me to the core of my existence. Tears flooded my eyes and I doubled over in an attempt to keep myself together. Veil screeched and I gathered her in my lap and squeezed her tightly to my chest.

"Where are you- Max? Max? MAX?" Fang yelled through the phone. Being forced out of my fetal position, my back arched and I fell back, hitting my head against the stained brick wall as my eyes widened in unbearable pain then blurred with tears. My stomach constricted and twisted violently and my body convulsed. Black dots faded in and out of my vision as I succumbed to the darkness, listening to Fang's fanatical cries.

Fang POV

"Max? Max? MAX!" I shouted into the phone, I could practically feel the Flock's stares boring into my back. I gritted my teeth and hit the red button to end the call, then promptly threw it across the room, grunting in frustration. Maya placed a tentative hand on my shoulder, "Fang are you okay?" I shook my head furiously, hell no! I was not okay! Nudge's head poked up behind Maya's. "Fang? Hey, Fang? Was that Max? It was, wasn't it. What did she say? Can I talk to her! Wait- what's wrong?"

When she finally stopped taking I balled my fists in my hair, God, something was so very wrong. Max, why didn't you tell me where you were?

"Well, that was Max-" Iggy snorted. "No duh!" Angel shoved him and motioned for me to go on, oddly intrigued.

"I don't know what's going on," I said solemnly. Angel spoke up, "We could hear her screaming, what aren't you telling us, Fang?" I told them what'd happened with Max at the grocery store, but stopped where I couldn't remember.

"And after that I can't remember what happened," I said tightly. Everyone stared wide-eyed. While they were in shock, I ran down the hall and grabbed my black Windbreaker, then ran out the front door. Maya ran close behind, "Where are you going?"

"For a fly," I stated sharply and leapt into the sky from our small porch.

Three hours later:

Nothing. I couldn't find a thing even hinting at where Max was. I looked up at the signs of the buildings, then found a McDonalds about a block from where I was standing. Walking in, I glanced at the tv in-between the two menus; 'Breaking News' bulletins bordered the outside of the screen and a guy sat in the middle holding a stack of papers.

"At about noon today, a young girl was found in a bathroom at Target with a young infant, she is in critical condition and undergoing surgery at Rogue Valley Medical Center, keep her in your prayers."

Before he'd even finished, I'd flown out the door.

Max POV:

I needed to run. I needed to get out of here. The burning antiseptic smell sent flames licking up my throat as I breathed in and out raggedly, I clenched my fists desperately and arched my back off the table. The heart moniter I was hooked up to was going wild, beeping erratically. I had an IV in my arm to get fluids into me. The door swung open and a shmancy doctor in a white lab coat trotted in. My eyes widened and I attempted to get up again, but was promptly held down by two nurses, so I ended up just arching off the table again.

I wondered briefly why I wasn't in a bed, but flung it to the back of my mind. I wasn't at my strongest, so I couldn't fight them away. I came to a sudden realization as the doctor approached, where was Veil? I didn't have time to think more on the subject, Doc had grabbed a syringe and was walking toward me. I started hyperventilating, and before I could see the needle pierce into my skin, I'd passed out.

: ::...

I opened my eyes to a near-black stormy sky. I sank my fingers into damp soil and twisted to see, I was in the forest. Towering green trees led up into the sky and my eyes widened again. I looked down, I looked vaguely healthy again. My ribs still stuck out when I lifted my arms above my head, and my hipbones still showed, but they were like that before. I was in a tattered t-shirt that now hung off of my frame, and baggy, grey sweatpants with a rolled up waistband.

I didn't have shoes. No backpack; that meant no supplies. No jacket, just the t-shirt. I felt water plop down into my body, and I looked up and opened my mouth because honestly? I was dying of thirst. Probably literally.

A branch snapped behind me. My spine stiffened and I clenched my fists tightly, getting ready to face whoever it was.

Fang POV:

She was gone from the hospital by the time I got there. As I walked back to the house, my anger suddenly gripped me and I slammed my fist into the closest brick wall. Then I braced myself against it, thinking and trying to force the memories of what'd happened that night out of myself. I gripped my hair out of frustration, then remembered. How could I have hurt her? I cussed loudly with everything in me, then ran back to the woods by the house.

Max POV:

The voice in the back of my head told me to run if I wanted to get out alive. The OTHER Voice said to stay put. I listened to the first, and ran like hell. Trees flew past me in a blur, and I leapt over fallen logs like they were pebbles, completely giving into my survival reflexive side.

I reached a meadow. Turning around and scanning the dark green forest where I'd just come from I checked to make sure my pursuer was far behind me. It was clear, so I looked over my shoulder and down to see if I could fit my wings through the tears in my shirt; I could. I rolled my shoulders back and slowly tried to stretch them out.

Nothing.

My wings didn't spread majestically from my back, they didn't even splay out in all directions in a feathery mess. I could barely think in my panic, the hysteria inside me was rising rapidly and I tore the shirt off my back, running my hands over the smooth skin. No wings. I gripped my hair and fell to my knees, I didn't care if who ever was out there found me now, hysterical and only in a bra and jeans in a meadow, there wasn't much to be found.

_There never was._

* * *

><p><em>AN: S'sup guys? I am seriously proud of this story, right now its like my friggin child. I can't stop writing it (But I wish I could get some more reviews...)_

_REVIEW AND I'LL POST THE NEXT CHAPTER! I'LL EVEN FIT IN SOME FAX FOR Y'ALL!_


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